whole time. If he stayed home and rested, he'd be a lot more pleasant to be around when he did get out there.
He yawned again. "I see how it is, you don't want to cut your alone time short with your new boyfriend, right?" he asked, trying to put a teasing tone in his voice. "All right Kaylee, I'm going to go before I fall asleep on the phone. I'll see you in a couple of days. You're going to be my date for the launch, right?"
"I'd be honored," she laughed. "Get some sleep...you're going to need it!"
"I love you," he told her.
He could hear her smile through the phone line. "I love you too. Good night."
Kaylee rushed around her hotel room, trying to tie everything together. The limo was supposed to be picking her up in 15 minutes, and she wasn't even close to being ready. In a little over an hour, she would be seeing Ashton again for the first time in what seemed like forever, and she felt like nothing was coming together right. Her hair was extra frizzy, her eyeliner kept breaking, she dropped her eye shadow compact, which sent the powder flying in every direction, and she put a giant run in her silk stockings.
Ten minutes and counting left Kaylee on the bathroom floor, trying to scrape up the remnants of her eye shadow, putting more smoothing lotion into her hair, and sharpening her eyeliner until it barely fit in the sharpener anymore.
At the five minute mark, Kaylee decided that she really didn't need stockings anyway. She had her dress on, along with her shoes, and it actually looked better that way. She stared at herself in the mirror, realizing that her panic was all for naught. Her hair looked great, the sides pulled back and twisted as if she was wearing a crown, the rest left to cascade down her back in waves. Her makeup was flawless, even if she did have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get it all, and her dress...Her dress was new, and was guaranteed to knock Ashton's socks off. It was fire engine red, draped at the chest and back. The back dipped to her waist, nearly to her butt, and the front showed just the right amount of cleavage, with tiny spaghetti straps holding it up. The bottom was a diagonal layered silk that was tiered into different levels. It was probably the sexiest dress that Kaylee owned, and it fit her like a glove.
Right on time, Kaylee heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" she called to the limo driver as she went to the bureau to get her evening bag and shawl. "I'll be ready in just a second," she told him. When the driver didn't say anything, she turned to look at him.
The shock on her face matched the shock on Ashton's, but for entirely different reasons. He stood there, holding a single Fire and Ice rose in his hand for her, with his mouth wide open.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, feeling excited and confused at the same time, She hadn't expected to see him until after the party had already started.
"I caught an early flight. I couldn't wait to see you," he said, still not blinking. "Good God, you are a sight for sore eyes!" He finally snapped to his senses and closed the distance between the two of them, capturing her with a bone-melting kiss.
"I've missed you so much," Kaylee told him breathlessly when they parted for air.
"You have no idea," he groaned, already feeling a reaction from the kiss. "I think that dress is going to be the death of me. You're not leaving my side for a minute tonight!"
Kaylee laughed. "I'm glad you like it." She kissed him again, but backed away a lot quicker this time. "We need to get going, or else we'll be late. The press is already waiting."
"Let them wait. I need some time alone with you," he asserted.
"As much as I would love that, if we spend any more time alone, we're going to end up in bed, and we'll never make it to the party," she told him seriously. "We better go."
Ashton sighed, "I hate it when you're right." He kissed her again. "Ok, let's go, but I meant it when I said that you are not leaving my side for the entire night."